The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 477: Chapter 477: Meeting a Childhood Friend

He was wearing boxers, but he was still shirtless!

’He should at least wear a tank top!’

Inside, Han Xiaorui heard Ye Feng pounding on the door. She didn’t want to open it at first, but then she remembered her sister was home. It really wasn’t appropriate for Ye Feng to be outside, so improperly dressed.

Han Xiaorui opened the door and chided, ”I’ll forgive you this time. But if I catch you again, I won’t let you off so easily.”

Seeing his wife open the door, Ye Feng quickly slipped inside, scooped up Han Xiaorui, shut the door, and made a beeline for the large bed.

As for the two little children, having eaten and drunk their fill, it was time for them to be good and sleep!

Ye Feng proved with his actions that the best part of fighting is the making up.

Ye Feng and Han Xiaorui had ”made up”!

The next morning, Han Xiaoqing saw her sister and brother-in-law acting all lovey-dovey and shook her head, an amused smile on her face. ”Sis, why were you and Brother-in-law fighting yesterday?”

”We...” Han Xiaorui started to answer, but Ye Feng cut her off.

Ye Feng quickly jumped in. ”Xiao Jing, you saw it wrong. We didn’t fight. We just had a small disagreement over how to raise the children. But we’ve already reached a consensus. We decided your sister’s approach to education is better, and mine is inappropriate. I’ve already conducted a thorough self-criticism on the matter.”

Han Xiaoqing was taken aback. ’Is my brother-in-law giving a formal report?’

Han Xiaorui smothered a giggle. ”Yes, that’s exactly it. He’s too casual with Zhuangzhuang. His parenting philosophy is stuck on ’spoil the girls and be tough on the boys.’ I strongly disagree with that!”

”Oh, so that’s what it was,” Han Xiaoqing said, the realization dawning on her. ”Sis, I think what Brother-in-law actually means is that boys should be raised to be responsible men. Too much material comfort and pampering might cause a child to lose his drive.”

”Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly what I meant.” Ye Feng nodded. He hadn’t expressed himself very well earlier. ’No wonder she studied psychology,’ he thought, ’she put it perfectly.’

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”I agree on that point. But I do have a slightly different take. I believe we should cultivate independence and good character in all our children, not just the boys. We can’t have high expectations for boys and none for girls. This isn’t the olden days where ’a woman’s virtue is her lack of talent’ was the belief.”

Han Xiaoqing was in complete agreement. ”My sister is right.”

She admired her sister all the more. Her sister’s perspective and way of thinking were both so advanced.

Just after breakfast, Ye Feng slapped his forehead. ”Xiao Rui, you should take the kids and head back first. I have to go to the airport.”

”Who are you picking up from the airport?” Han Xiaorui asked.

Ye Feng answered, ”My dad called yesterday. Uncle Huo is visiting with his son, Huo Guang. Huo Guang is a childhood friend of mine, but we lost touch after he joined the army. We connected even less after he was discharged and stayed in Beijing while I was in Shencheng. He did come to our wedding, though...”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up. ’I have to admit, the Huo Family and Huo Guang have an excellent idea!’

In her past life, there was indeed a lot of seafood in the New Autonomous Region. Especially after Japan released its nuclear wastewater, polluting the oceans, the seafood from the New Autonomous Region became a bestseller.

”Oh, well since he’s a childhood friend—and a good one at that—who came all this way to ask for help, we should do our best to assist him.”

Ye Feng nodded, then the idea of raising seafood on saline-alkali land in the northwest suddenly struck him. ”Xiao Rui, is the saline-alkali land in the east different from the land in the west? Can you actually raise seafood there?”

Han Xiaorui replied, ”Those are technical issues, but I think it’s possible. For now, pick up Huo Guang and get him settled in a hotel. I’ll drop the kids off at their grandmother’s and come right back.”

It was the weekend, and Old Madam Xu had already called, asking for the children to come over.

The elderly love having children around.

”Alright!” Ye Feng agreed, and he and Han Xiaorui went their separate ways.

Around ten-thirty, Ye Feng picked up his good friend Huo Guang, along with Huo Guang’s wife, Chen Min, and their son, Huo Ze. Trailing behind them were Ye Ling and Ye Chen, dragging large suitcases.

”Big Brother!” Ye Ling and Ye Chen were thrilled to see him.

Ye Chen, in particular, shoved his suitcase toward his brother. ”This trip was exhausting,” he complained. ”Big Brother, these are all gifts I got for my sister-in-law and my nephew and niece. You better hold on to them.”

Summer vacation had already started a few days ago. When his two younger brothers didn’t show up, Ye Feng had assumed they weren’t coming.

It turned out they hadn’t skipped the visit; they had just come with Huo Guang.

”Alright.” Ye Feng took the suitcase. He couldn’t be too hard on his brothers in front of Huo Guang. ”Huo Guang, you’re the lucky one. Your son is already so big.”

Huo Guang said smugly, ”I might not be able to beat you in other things, but when it comes to getting married and having kids, you’ll never catch up to me.”

Huo Guang and Chen Min were high school classmates. Neither got into college. Huo Guang joined the army, but right before he left, he and Chen Min tasted the forbidden fruit, and she got pregnant.

Their families were friends for generations, and the two were childhood sweethearts who knew each other inside and out. So, their families held a wedding banquet, and they were married at eighteen. Huo Guang became a father at nineteen.

By that count, Huo Guang’s son was already ten years old.

On this point, Huo Guang wasn’t wrong. Ye Feng’s son wasn’t even a year old yet; he really couldn’t catch up.

Chen Min pinched Huo Guang and said with a smile, ”Ye Feng, don’t listen to his nonsense. We got married and had our child early, but we only have the one! Not like you, who had twins right off the bat! Plus, with Xiao Rui’s two daughters, that gives you three girls and a boy, Brother Ye. I’d love a daughter, but the family planning policies are so strict now. If we had another child, it would affect both Huo Guang’s and my father-in-law’s careers.”

Hearing his wife, Huo Guang was envious. ”Yeah, we only have one! Son, say hi to your uncle.”

Ye Feng laughed and chided him, ”Show some respect for your elders. Xiao Ze, you should call him Uncle.”

Huo Guang wasn’t having it. ”My registered age might be younger than yours, but I was only born three days after you!”

Ye Feng grinned smugly. ”Forget three days. Even if you were born three minutes after me, you’d still be younger.”

”Brother Ye, don’t mind Huo Guang,” Chen Min said with a laugh. ”That’s just how he is, always running his mouth.”

Huo Ze politely greeted him, ”Uncle Ye.”

”Good boy!” Ye Feng patted Huo Ze’s head. ”This afternoon, I’ll take you out on the ocean to see the dolphins.”

Huo Ze’s eyes lit up. ”Uncle Ye, I want to see whales and sharks too!”

”Alright!” Ye Feng chuckled. ”Let’s go.”

He had called the driver from the ornamental fish farm to help pick everyone up.

They split up into two cars.

The original plan was to drop Huo Guang’s family off at a hotel, but both he and Chen Min refused, insisting they stay at Ye Feng’s house.

”Brother Ye, one room is enough for our family. You don’t need to go to any trouble. Staying at a hotel costs money, and it feels so formal. Plus, if we want to go out together, we’ll just end up waiting around for each other.”

Huo Guang nodded in agreement. ”Yeah, Brother Feng, we’re not staying at a hotel. If we stay at your place, we can talk more. We haven’t seen each other in years, and I have so much to tell you. You haven’t been in Beijing, so you don’t know... the old gang from our childhood, they’ve all grown up and changed.”

”Well, as long as you don’t mind the mess,” Ye Feng said with a laugh. Even though they did their best to keep the house tidy, with so many kids, it always felt a little chaotic.

Ye Feng hadn’t been used to it at first, but now, any neat-freak tendencies he once had were long gone.

The children had ”cured” him of it.